More often than not, when speaking about the rise of Indian women’s cricket, fans and analysts will cite legendary players, historic series victories, and World cup success. But, behind every great team is a coach that guides its purpose, discipline and culture. The history of the coaching job with the Indian women’s cricket team is a compelling mixture of ambition, controversy, backroom machinations and sporadic brilliance. Since the early 2010s, India has gone from head coach to head coach with each making an imprint on the progress of the team and leaving in a fashion that shows up more about process than person.
Remembering the complete Indian women’s cricket team coach list is more than just keeping the score. This serves as an insight into the exploits of BCCI to manage, or mismanage at times, one of the most talented women’s sides in world cricket. This piece takes you through every head coach who worked with the Indian women, what they achieved and why their time ended.
Why the Indian Women’s Cricket Team Coach List Matters?
India are now among the best teams in women’s international cricket. But the front office still continues to battle the same problem over and over again: retaining head coaches long-enough to form synergy. The nature of the BCCI, together with longstanding real and (old) player-coach frictions at the top has often broken-the-continuity.
This trend can be seen if you look at the entire Indian Women’s Cricket team coach list since 2011. Every name on that list has a tale of potential, productivity and often early exit; their departure invariably raising queries over the benefits of stability.
Anju Jain (2011 to 2013)
Now the list of Indian women’s cricket team coaches since modern era starts with a stronger footing with Anju Jain, which is also an India cricketer himself with huge playing records. Having played 8 Tests and 65 ODIs for India, she is also the only cricketer worldwide to take part in four World Cups back-to-back an achievement highlighting her ability to last both in terms of time and play quality.
Jain was appointed as head coach in place of Sudha Shah and served between 2011–2013. In her two-years in charge, she led the Indian Women’s team superbly well, with a professionalism and awareness for the game built from her own prolific playing career. Having played at the highest level in a country that had featured her leading players in multiple World Cups, she understood the stress browsing through each of them offered and could lead from a place of authentic experience.
But she had complications along the way that ended with her being sacked before executing the vision she had for the side, despite showing positive signs during her tenure in charge. Those complications were never elaborated in public but her entry into and exit from the team paved way to a series of gory blowout coaching changes which became hallmark for Indian women cricket team coach list for years.
Tushar Arothe: First Stint (2013 to 2014)
Once Anju Jain was done with her stint, Tushar Arothe joined as the head coach in 2013. With over 100 first-class matches to his name, Arothe had worked with the under-19 teams of men and women before being roped in for women’s cricket. He was retained till early 2014, after which he left for the new induction in Indian women’s cricket team coach list.
Purnima Rau (2014 to 2017)
The most significant name on the Indian women’s cricket team coaches list is Purnima Rau, another former India cricketer who can genuinely claim to have turned around the fortune of the national side during her time in charge.
It is no surprise Rau was initially appointed head coach after a disastrous World Cup exit to try and rebuild the team’s confidence and competitive edge. But she was infamously dismissed after the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2014 as Indian cricket (BCCI) preferred short-term gain instead of allowing a coach to cater to a long-term vision.
Her comeback came for the New Zealand series, in 2015, and her return was immediate – and huge. With her, India emerged victorious in the series against New Zealand 3-2 a result indicative of the team’s increased competitiveness. That momentum continued, as India also claimed to the T20 series in Australia and they took that form into the Sri Lanka series to secure victory.
The 2016 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was another disappointing campaign for the team, though Rau steadied the ship with two wins over West Indies and a victory in the Asia Cup, which secured her standing as manager. The team was certainly, under her guidance, climbing in a uniform upward line.
After coaching India in the qualifier in Colombo, her charge ended abruptly in 2017. Her resignation was sudden and a misunderstanding with the players, who wanted her removed from office. It was an emotionally charged and controversial conclusion to a partnership with the national side that had brought true progress, provoking fresh debate about the power players now seem able to wield in managerial matters.
Tushar Arothe: Second Stint (2017 to 2018)
Tushar Arothe returned as head coach for a second time after the departure of Purnima Rau, having been appointed ahead of the 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. Arothe’s influence here was even more profound. He took Team India to the finals of the World Cup, where they lost a heartbreaking match against England. Although they lost the final, Arothe’s achievement of taking India to the title clash was seen as a landmark moment for women’s cricket in the country and garnered more eyeballs on his stint.
He held on to the role for a few more months post-World Cup before controversy struck again. His coaching and training methods were described as ‘ineffective’ by some of the top Indian players who reportedly complained to the Committee of Administrators. He was further undermined by defeats to Bangladesh in the Asia Cup and unsatisfactory displays in the tri-series with England and Australia.
Poor results and reports of players leaving have made his position untenable and he was then dismissed. But with another his exit is added in the troubled history of Women’s coach for India, generally once relationship breaks in between the players and coach nothing goes smoothly.
Ramesh Powar: First Stint (2018)
Ramesh Powar is one of the most controversial names on Indian women’s cricket team coach list. His initial tenure as head coach in 2018 ended with controversy when a public fallout resulted over his decision to exclude star batter Mithali Raj from the vital semi-final clash against England at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2018.
The omission of one of India’s greatest ever batters from a knock-out match created both public and internal uproar. Raj has even filed a detailed complaint against Powar’s conduct and how the team was being run. This resulted in one of the more talked about episodes in the Indian women’s cricket team coach list and was a notable enough fallout that Powar’s first tenure came to an end.
WV Raman (2018 to 2021)
In wake of the turmoil surrounding Powar’s first exit, WV Raman, the celebrated former India cricketer and domestic cricket legend was made head coach in 2018. During his time, which ran until 2021 by many metrics, Indian women’s cricket enjoyed unprecedented success and productivity.
Raman was credited with leading India to a successful run of important bilateral series wins and making the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, finishing as runners-up. Winning the runner-up trophy at a big ICC event was a credit to the growth of his team under Mishra’s astute guidance.
Amidst all of this success, when Raman’s contract was up for renewal, he wasn’t retained as head coach. It was a surprise for most observers, especially considering the results that Raman had given previously, when the Cricket Advisory Committee appointed Ramesh Powar as his replacement. Raman did not mince his words about the environment in the team before stepping aside. He publicly spoke of what he termed a culture of “Prima Donnas” in the system and allegedly wrote to then BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and former National Cricket Academy head Rahul Dravid, providing them with a detailed plan for improving India’s women’s cricket as well. This left another complicated entry in the history of Indian women’s cricket team coach log.
Ramesh Powar: Second Stint (2021 to 2022)
Powar resumed responsibilities as head coach in May 2021, just ahead of a key time for the side with slates of major tournaments approaching. His second term yielded hit-or-miss results, embodying both uplifting and frustrating elements that have accompanied much of the narrative around coaching Indian women’s cricket through its history.
On the other hand, Powar has got credit for leading India to a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, and also for helping India win the ODI series against England by 3-0 in England a result that would no doubt be regarded as quite a meaningful accomplishment with regard to conditions and opposition. Fans and selectors too pointed to a Asia Cup victory during his tenure as another highlight calling it a sign of progress.
On the other side ICC Women ODI World Cup 2022 was a big flop. The team that was hyped made an early exit with the country having been knocked out of the tournament itself. A World Cup exit in the early stages and failure to translate his performances in red-ball cricket inconsistency made up a mixed record for his second tenure. He completed his term in 2022, providing the closing episode of a controversial but indisputably stimulating presence on the Indian women’s cricket team coaches list.
What the Coach List Reveals?
A rather disturbing trend is very much visible as we sift through the complete list of Indian women cricket team coaches. Cliché though it may have become, India has yet to supply its coaches with the time and resources Thomas should need in order to bring real structural change. Indian cricket’s penchant to cut the leash short on head coaches means that each poor phase or factional tussle could see a coaching career terminated.
Similarly, disputes between player and coach have been a constant.Return to top From the bizarre circumstances leading to Purnima Rau’s exit, to the Ramesh Powar & Mithali Raj controversy and now their own coach having big issues with team culture, for the Indian women’s cricket team manager list is as much a narrative about management and culture (or lack thereof) as it is about strategy on or off the pitch.
The lesson of this history is there if Indian women’s cricket were but to heed it. A stable coaching structure, more transparent communication with management and a real desire to plan for long-term success are key components in India’s aspirations to win the biggest prizes in the game.
Conclusion
The list of Indian women’s cricket team coaches is quite colourful and at times complicated with opportunity, ambition and politics since 2011. This is a story of chapters written by Anju Jain, Purnima Rau, Tushar Arothe, WV Raman and now Ramesh Powar each having added something worthwhile to the role and all given exit under management circumstances exposing the systemic ills afflicting Indian women’s cricket administration.
But with the massive tournaments on the horizon for India and increased attention on the women’s game internationally, these takeaways from this Indian women’s cricket team coach list can ensure that the BCCI adopts a more considered, consistent and coach-friendly mindset. But the absence of doubting the talent that exists amongst the Indian women’s squad. What embodies on the necessary is a stable coach and an empowered philo
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